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Comment by Someone

4 years ago

The Programma 101 was a programmable calculator. Even though it could do more, out of the box, than many of those kits (built-in printer and card reader), I wouldn’t call it a personal computer.

But then I barely would call the Apple-1 that, either. You bought a PCB, optionally pre-assembled that booted into a system monitor. Even though you could directly connect a keyboard and a television (huge improvements; competing products still had toggle switches and indicator lights) that’s not something you could sell to ‘normal’ people.

The Apple II added a power supply, a keyboard (meaning buyers didn’t need to go to some dump to find a keyboard that worked or could be made to work with the system), a case and Basic in ROM. That, for me, made it a personal computer. If you bought it, you could go home, plug it in, and start tinkering.

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jhallenworld  4 years ago

I would argue that the TRS-80 model 1 was more significant as the first home computer: $400 instead of $1300. Like the Apple-][ it also was usable out of the box, it just lacked color.

http://www.trs-80.org/was-the-trs-80-once-the-top-selling-co...

  • Someone  4 years ago

    That’s possibly changing the subject from personal computer to home computer (IMO, there’s a subtle difference, but I doubt one can give a good definition of that difference)

    If you think these are synonyms, the TRS-80 may have been more significant, but it wasn’t the first. The race was close, though. Apple II in June, TRS-80 in August, PET in December 1977.

    And of course, the ideal first would be the Honeywell Kitchen Computer from 1969, but unfortunately none of them seem to have been sold, if the product even existed for real (https://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=927). Now, _that_ would be a collectors item.